Councilman Carl Stokes, who introduced the emergency bill, said it was urged by the Ravens, Orioles, and various entertainment venues concerned that Ticketmaster would no longer handle their events. As if.

Sure, a 50-cent limit might be out of date at this point, but come on — when Ticketmaster is the only option for an event-goer, the surcharge is pure price-gouging. And it’s not like venues couldn’t raise the face value of their tickets and cut a per-sale deal with the company. And if Ticketmaster doesn’t go for that, I’m sure plenty of other online ticketing middlemen would love to deal.